Whimsical 


UC-NRLF 


EDE 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

CALIFORNIA 
SANTA    CRUZ 


SANTA     CRUZ 


PS 

3505 
06*5 


made 

LELAND  •  S  ^COPELANP 


Santa   Barbara,   California 


SEPTF.MBER 


Copyrighted  1921 

BY 

LELAND  S.    COPELAND 


The 

Schauer  Printing  Studio 
Santa  Barbara,  Calif. 


/I   /        $/. 


FORE 

"GOOD  VERSE   RIMES," 

BOSS   MATTHEWS  THOUGHT. 
"FREE  LINES   FETTER 

CHARM,"   HE  TAUGHT. 

"TABLOID  WORK 

IS   MUCH    PREFERRED," 
MAC  ALARNEY. 

"WRITE  A  WORD." 


DREAMS 


BEYOND  the  dark  and  ruffled  sea, 

Which  breezes  crest  with  foam ; 
Beyond  the  rising  tidal  stream, 
Where  sails  and  circling  seagulls  gleam, 

All  dim  gray-blue,  it  shoulders  through — 
The  Island  of  my  Dream. 

Out  there  at  dawn  a  purple  veil 
Slips  down  the  mountain  slope, 

To  tint  a  nook  where  poppies  teem, 

And  in  that  paradise  I  seem 
To  see  her  w^ait,  caressed  by  Fate — 

The  Lovegirl  of  my  Dream. 


Yet  all  the  years  sweep  sadly  by. 

I  cannot  cross  the  sea, 

But  on  the  cliff  that  braves  the  stream 
I  stay  perplexed,  nor  catch  a  beam 

Of  faith  to  take  and  will  to  make 
The  Future  of  my  Dream. 


ALONE 


I  OFTEX  think  how  lonely  the  Lord  of  Life  must  be, 
Who  made  the  pneumococcus  and  poured  the  starry  sea ; 
Who  built  a  brontosaurus  and  locked  its  bones  in  earth 
Ere  anthropoid  or  human  had  Cenozoic  birth. 


How  lonely,  how  forsaken,  the  God  of  Suns  must  be, 
With  neither  wife  nor  comrade  to  share  Eternity ! 
His  home  quintillions  measure,  but  every  else  too  small, 
For  suns  themselves  are  motes  that  dust  the  Empty  All. 


I  sometimes  think  how  sated  the  King  of  Kings  must  be, 
Whose  microscopic  vision  records  Infinity — 
The  toils  and  wars  of  trillions,  while  hunger,  love  and  hope 
Unreel  the  old, old  dramas  through  which  the  midges  grope. 


STARS 


OUT  through  space  my  spirit  leaps, 

Swifter  far  than  light; 
Up  to  the  lunar  craters, 

Gilded,  banked  with  night; 
Over  the  channeled,  ruddy  Mars, 

Up  through  Saturn's  rings; 
Parting  the  hair  of  comets, 

On  my  spirit  wings; 
Out  where  vast  and  awful  voids 

Space  the  Milky  Way — 
Room  for  earths  by  hundreds 

To  spin  the  night  and  day ; 
Straight  through  stuff  of  orbs  unborn, 

Mammoth  nebulae; 


Lost  where  stars  by  thousands 

Light  the  Ether  Sea; 
Far  in  timeless,  bournless  space 

Till  systems  cease  to  roll; 
Ever  vainly  seeking 

Hope  and  the  Supersoul. 
Millions  die  who  never  knew 

Half  I  see  and  ken 
While  I  circle  madly 

Through  the  stars.    And  then- 
Back  to  earth  my  spirit  falls, 

Tired  of  cosmic  dust; 
Needing  a  human  being, 

Human  love  and  trust; 
Gliding  down  on  fancy's  wings 

Deep  among  the  hills, 
Where  the  elms  and  maples 

Arch  the  flowered  rills; 
Back  to  dark-haired  Mirabel 

All  my  being  flies; 
Back  to  a  wide-arm  welcome 

And  the  cosmos  of  her  eyes. 


CONSOLATRIX 


TAKE  me,  dear  Death,  in  your  arms. 

I  have  tried  so  hard  in  vain, 
But  the  hopes  of  my  heart  life  cannot  impart- 

You  must  smooth  away  this  pain; 
You  must  lock  me  fast  where  hope  is  passed, 

Released  from  my  own  disdain. 


Fold  me,  kind  Death,  in  your  calm. 

I  am  tired  of  toil  and  play, 
And  I  long  to  rest,  like  a  child,  on  your  breast 

In  the  dusk  of  a  tangled  day. 
Yes,  I  long  to  sleep  in  a  slumber  deep, 

Untroubled  forever  and  aye. 


REBIRTH 

IT  WAS  here  that  your  ashes  were  laid,  my  dear; 

That  we  scattered  your  dust  in  the  dew, 
Where  we  planted  the  rose  that  enchantingly  grows 

To  fashion  your  graces  anew. 

Your  glories  still  gladden  the  earth,  my  child ; 

Your  smile  is  a  quaint  perfume ; 
These  velvety  tips  were  the  gentlest  of  lips, 

And  your  cheeks  engendered  this  bloom. 

Again  your  appear,  but  are  many,  my  child, 

And  at  last  one  brightens  for  me, 
Who  loved  you  so  long,  with  a  loyalty  strong, 

And  hoped  for  what  never  could  be. 


11 


DREAM -STUFF 


"A  girl  in  whom  a  man  is  interested  is  more 
of  a  dream  than  a  real  person." 


THE  girl  you  see — oh  no,  not  she, 

But  the  girl  astir  in  your  heart 
Is  the  woman  you  love  and  exalt  above 

The  stir  of  street  and  mart. 
For  the  really  so  in  lass  or  beau 

Is  hardly  half  that  seems 
When  a  strange  control  upwings  the  soul 

To  days  that  are  webbed  in  dreams. 


12 


For  buried  deep  in  the  mental  keep 

Is  the  love  of  a  million  years — 
The  pulse  and  mark  of  dawn  and  dark 

With  a  myriad  smiles  and  tears. 
And  a  hundred  tales  of  hills  and  dales 

That  were  or  might  have  been, 
The  dreams  of  art,  have  molded  part 

Of  the  Love  that  lurks  within. 


13 


SUPERSTAR 

ALPHA  of  Orion,  mammoth  of  the  sky, 

Dropping  gold  at  evening,  sparkling  red  and  high; 

Blinking  light  at  billions, 

Vast  as  suns  by  millions; 

Far  among  the  stars  and  rich  in  latent  worth — 
Greetings  from  a  solar  atom,  wrinkled  little  earth! 

Airy  in  your  substance,  hardly  there  at  all, 
You  are  moving  madly — heed  some  secret  call. 

Woven  in  your  glories, 

Doze  uncounted  stories. 

Life  and  hope  and  death,  with  love  and  loss  and  tears, 
Sleep  within  your  vapors,  wait  the  throbbing  years. 


14 


AD VENTU  RE 

OUR  LIFE  is  strife,  a  brief  and  rude  adventure, 
A  war  of  will  and  clash  of  hearts, 

And  hope  is  half  our  bliss — a  dream  of  joy 
That  Time  so  grudgingly  imparts. 

The  game  is  old,  for  years  have  gone  by  millions 
Since  living  things  first  yearned  and  vied ; 

Since  dots  of  hunger  jostled  round  the  food 
That  floated  through  the  Algonkian  tide. 

Our  restless  globe  has  raced  its  circled  journey 

For  eons  since  the  ape-like  men 
Within  a  Java  jungle  snapped  and  clawed 

For  Beauty,  fruit,  or  leafy  den. 


15 


Three  myriad  years  ago  contending  cavemen 
Struck  death  from  flakes  of  ragged  stone. 

The  lake-hut  peoples  warred.    Assyrian  kings 
On  rivals'  corpses  raised  a  throne. 

Xerxes'  and  Alexander's  deadly  marches, 
The  Caesars'  sword  and  Omar's  flame, 

A  Corsican,  a  Kaiser — all  were  part 
Of  earth's  kaleidoscopic  game. 

Millions  of  years!   yet  men  and  nations  grapple. 

So  sad  to  lose,  yet  grand  to  win! 
A  glint  of  gain  to  fight  for  thrills  the  world, 

Which  drowsy,  dreary  else  had  been. 


16 


REST 


I  LIKE  the  sea,  but  I  long  to  be 

Where  ruddy  wild  strawberries  grow; 
Where  fragrant  forget-me-nots  border  the  rills, 
And  maples  and  clover  blooms  nod  in  the  hills, 
In  quiet  green  hills  that  I  know. 


For  it  seems  to  me  'twould  be  lulling  to  be 

Where  the  dead  found  a  rest  long  ago ; 
Where  memories  sleep  in  the  stones  o'er  each  bed, 
And  lilies  look  tenderly  down  at  the  dead, 
In  quiet  green  hills  that  I  know. 


17 


DAWN    AND    HOPE 

LIGHT,  light,  the  morning  light — 
Many  a  ray  leading  the  day 
Into  all  parts. 

Hope,  hope,  recurrent  hope — 
Bringing  us  cheer,  conquering  fear, 
Raising  our  hearts. 


18 


SHADOWS 


Overtones  of  "Take  Me  Back  to  Babyland, 
F.  J.  Tannehill,  Jr. 


TAKE  me  back  where  Elsa  smiles 

And  let  me  linger  there ; 
Cheer  me  with  the  pensive  charm 

Of  shadow'  eyes  and  hair ; 
Let  her  sing  again  or  be 

Sweet  with  whimsies  fanned- 
Take  me  back  beside  the  hearth, 

Deep  in  Memory  land. 


FUTURE 


AFTER  the  dreams  and  yearning, 

Beyond  the  storm-cloud  too, 
What  for  me  will  be  future  be, 

And  what  for  you? 

Where  will  Florene  be  singing, 
And  who  will  arrest  her  smile? 

Whose  joy  will  last  when  mine  has  passed, 
After  a  while? 

Who  will  charm  her  forever? 

Ah,  would  that  I  knew  how! 
Man  of  the  earth,  esteem  her  worth 

As  I  do  now. 


20 


PARTING 


FAREWELL,  for  the  shadowed  hours  incline, 

And  day's  delights  so  soon  are  gone. 
I  leave  you,  dear ;  your  love  resign. 

Farewell — till  a  brighter  day  shall  dawn. 


21 


THESE  THINGS  MUST  BE 

I  CANNOT  help  that  snows  are  white, 

That  skies  of  June  are  blue, 
Nor  yet  that  stars  shine  all  night  long — 

No  more  can  you,  no  more  can  you. 


The  Bengal  tiger's  teeth  are  sharp, 

And  ships  do  down  at  sea  ; 
No  footfall  cheers  the  lonely  moon — 

These  things  must  be,  these  things  must  be. 


22 


THUS     PASSES    GLORY 

MY  MASTER  has  rendered  a  message  of  fate 

In  words  that  gloom  like  a  knell, 
And  my  way  winds  out  through  the  mountain  gate 

To  droop  where  the  lost  souls  dwell. 
For  the  fairy-formed  hours  are  all  at  end, 
And  hope  so  shattered  no  magic  can  mend — 

Too  soon  I  must  bid  you  farewell. 


Through  fair  paths  we  wandered ;  no  more  we  shall  roam, 

For  Fate  is  supreme  from  appeal. 
I  must  leave  you  serene  in  your  mountain-locked  home, 

To  wait  for  the  ill  and  the  weal. 
For  my  way  lengthens  on  under  rain-laden  skies 
And  no  more  will  run  where  your  mountains  arise — 

I  have  lost  you  forever,  Camille. 


W  A  N  H  O  P  E 


THROUGH  all  the  long,  dim  ages 

That  were  or  ever  shall  be, 
The  bliss  that  we  seek  we  saw  not 

And  never  forever  shall  see. 

Fair  dreams  we  have  dreamed,  dear  comrades, 
But  our  rose-girt  hopes  have  fled ; 

Oh,  many  an  early  promise 

That  wakened  our  wills  is  dead. 

The  good  we  labored  to  gather, 

The  joy  that  was  almost  won, 
Lie  out  of  our  life  forever, 

And  our  clouded  day  is  done. 


24 


We  were  whims  of  a  myriad  chances, 
Th"e  entangled  strands  of  cause, 

Which  gave  us  a  full,  deep  yearning 
And  broke  us  with  pitiless  laws. 

But  who  can  forbid  us  to  fancy 
We  yet  shall  stand  in  the  light 

That  shines  for  the  favored  of  Nature  ? 
Hope  on  till  the  fall  of  night ! 

Let  us  dream  till  Dark,  the  consoler, 
Comes  gently  to  lull  us  to  rest; 

To  wrap  us  up  snug  for  eons 
In  a  care-free  slumber  nest. 


25 


REMORSE 


IN  THE  ember  glow  I  sit  alone 

At  the  twilight  hour  of  life, 
And  muse  of  a  day  ere  I  stole  away 

To  dwell  in  a  world  of  strife. 
I  think  of  a  hope  forever  gone, 

Of  joy  that  died  in  the  din, 
And  dream  of  the  love  that  once  I  loved 

And  the  glory  that  might  have  been. 


I  stand  anew  on  a  grassy  knoll 
In  the  Springland  of  Romance, 


And  my  soul  is  stirred  by  a  love-fraught  word 
And  the  power  of  a  tender  glance. 

The  distant  dell,  where  soft  clouds  drift, 
And  the  future  seem  akin, 

As  again  we  plan  for  the  years  to  come — 
For  the  glory  that  never  has  been. 


SUNDERED 


I  HAVE  missed  you,  dearest  being, 
In  the  winding  ways  of  earth. 

At  each  turning,  dimly  yearning, 
I  have  found  but  void  and  dearth ; 

Never  learning  or  discerning 

Where  you  linger,  Soul  of  Worth. 


When  I  brood  o'er  past  and  future, 
Soon  to  you  my  thoughts  incline. 

In  my  dreaming,  lost  in  seeming, 
I  am  sure  your  hopes  entwine 


28 


One  still  deeming  love  is  streaming 
From  your  heart  to  comfort  mine. 


Though  I  know  that  all  my  journey 

Fortune's  blight  will  darken  through, 

I  am  trying,  vainly  spying, 
For  the  face  I  never  knew. 

And  in  dying,  death  defying, 
All  my  heart  will  go  to  you. 


29 


VANITY 

ROSES  lose  their  pink  and  white, 

Clinging  vines  too  soon  untwine; 

Day's  dear  light  goes  out  in  night. 
Stars  at  last  refuse  to  shine. 

Is  there,  then,  no  faithful  wight? 

Yes,  a  creature  sweetly  true; 
Woman  bright  as  dawning  light, 

Constant-during   .   .   .  like  the  dew\ 


30 


HELPMEET 

PRETTY  eyes  and  tresses 
Capture  easy  men. 

Dupes  that  wed  for  beauty 
Seldom  smile  again. 

Woman  takes  the  ducats, 
Woman  grips  the  sous ; 

Finery  and  comforts 

Why  should  she  refuse? 


31 


Much  she  helps  her  husband. 

Here  the  rule  discern — 
Giving,  giving,  giving, 

Asking  no  return. 


Judges  grant  him  respite  ; 

Still  there's  gold  to  pay — 
Alimony  driblets 

Till  the  Judgment  Day. 


32 


THOUGHTS  AND  WISHES 


WHEN  the  sky  is  blue,  I  think  of  you, 

Of  a  woman  gowned  in  gentle  blue. 

Through  the  sunset  pink,  of  you  I  think, 

Of  a  girl  enrobed  in  darling  pink. 

When  the  moon  shines  fair  on  night  like  your  hair, 

I  wish  you  were  here — no,  I'm  glad  you  are  there! 


33 


MELODY    IN     M 

Music  of  her  voice, 
Magic  of  her  eye, 

Mystery  of  her  presence 

Make  me  sad — and  why? 


Much  though  I  adore, 
More  than  she  can  see, 

Merry-minded  maiden 
Merely  mocks  at  me. 


34 


ENVY 

IF  I  were  Miss  Florena's  muff, 

I'd  be  exceeding  bold, 
For  e'en  by  day,  on  every  way, 

Two  precious  hands  I'd  hold. 

If  I  might  be  Florena's  muff, 
Though  other  joys  depart, 

Enough  for  me  that  I  could  be 
So  very  near  her  heart. 

If  I  were  just  Florena's  muff, 

She'd  like  me  much — she  would  ; 

Each  soft  caress,  would  then  address 
To  me — ah,  if  she  could  ! 


35 


ELFIN    LAMENT 


SWEET  lady  with  the  dark  brown  eyes, 
With  hair  wrhere  night  in  slumber  lies, 
With  ready  smile  and  witching  ways 
That  web  the  hearts  of  men  and  fays ; 
The  shadows'  pride,  whom  sunshine  grew, 
Enchantress,  yet  a  kindness  too — 
Oh  why,  oh  why,  do  you  dart  away 
From  hedge  and  lawn  where  the  fairies  play? 

Sometimes  at  dusk  your  footfall  light 
Bestirs  the  pulse  of  bearded  spright 
And  thrills  the  heart  of  this  elfin  king — 
My  heart  leaps  like  a  wounded  thing. 
Then  forth  I  spring  with  happy  cry 
To  welcome  one  who  scurries  by. 
Aye,  fast  and  faster  follow  you ; 
Distressed  and  breathless,  call,  "Halloo! 


36 


O  lassie,  come  with  fairies  play 

And  frolic  o'er  the  lawn  till  day." 

But  heedless  (Sweet,  you  do  not  know), 

With  flying  feet  clear  home  you  go; 

You  slam  the  door  on  hoary  beard 

And  leave  me  with  thei  dark  you  feared. 


Then  up  to  your  window  straight  I  leap 
And  flat  my  nose  on  the  pane  and  peep. 
A  hopeless  darkness  rules  awhile ; 
The  light  comes  on,  I  see  you  smile. 
You  smile  with  a  smile  not  meant  for  me — 
Oh,  would  that  dark  brown  eyes  could  see 
The  sad  little  heart  that  loves  you  so, 
With  changeless  love  that  fairies  show. 


So,  faint  and  grieved,  I  drop  to  earth 
And  slow  wend  back  to  sport  and  mirth — 
To  mirth  I  joy  in  ne'er  again 
Till,  Queen  of  Fays,  you  crown  my  train. 


37 


TO    LIVE    IS    TO    SIN 

BY  SPITFIRE,  KITTEN 


I  LICKED  my  paws 

And  sharped  my  claws ; 
Then  purred,  "Beware,  my  tasteful  mouse," 

Ere  I  danced  away 

In  the  failing  day 
Through  a  spacious  printing  house. 


And  as  I  went 

With  greedy  bent, 
I  stilled  my  heart  as  good  men  do. 

"  'Tis  not  unkind 

For  me  to  find 
A  mellow  mouse  or  two. 


u  'Cause  not  for  self 

Or  dainty  pelf 
I  soon  shall  lick  my  velvet  jaws; 

To  help  poor  man 

The  best  I  can, 
I  munch  on  mousy  paws." 


So  round  the  base 

Of  many  a  case 
Where  printers  toiled  my  bright  eyes  went. 

With  purpose  ripe 

Past  linotype 
I  dashed — and  found  the  scent. 


Then  through  the  door 

And  over  the  floor 
Of  the  editorial  room  I  flew. 

In  that  hall  of  fame 

I  clawed  my  game 
While  the  scribes  roared,  "  'Rah  for  you!" 


The  girl-cub  cried 

When  this  she  spied, 
"O  naughty  Spitfire,  come  not  here 

With  angry  mind 

And  all  unkind — 
You  shall  not  hurt  the  dear!'' 


That  mouse  was  scared, 

So  ill  he  fared. 
"Let's  arbitrate,"  he  gently  whined. 

I  took  my  fill. 

"I  gladly  will, 
But  wait  till  I  have  dined." 


EUGENICS?    WHY    NOT? 


"If  the  afflicted  member  of  your  direct  ancestral  line  was 
as  far  removed  as  a  great-grandparent,  and  if  you  have  at  least 
three  brothers  and  sisters,  all  normally  resistant,  you  may 
assume  that  the  taint  has  been  eradicated." 


my  daughter?     Never,  sir! 
Parent  love  will  shelter  her." 
Father  thundered  till  he  shook. 
Scattering  ice  along  his  look. 

Vanished  all  the  suitor's  bliss. 
"What,  ne'er  taste  your  weedy  kiss? 
Tell  me,  man,  what  crime  I've  done 
That  I  cannot  be  your  son." 


41 


"Ancestors  is  your  offense, 

All  of  whom  had  taint  immense!" 

Fiercely  Dolly's  dad  replied, 

"For  once  at  least  they  all  have  died! 


"Dare  you  seek  a  sweet  girl's  hand? 
Worse  remains;  I  understand, 
Scion  tinctured  through  and  through, 
Some  had  cholera  morbus,  too." 


Grief  prolonged  the  suitor's  face. 
"Nature  marked  me  for  disgrace  .  .  . 
Break  my  heart  ...  I  shall  be  missed 
I  go  to  death  and  calm  unkissed." 


DIVIDED    DUTY 


"Mother,  I  have  torn  my  trousers — 
Ripped  them  on  a  naughty  nail. 

Will  you  patch  them  while  I  slumber? 

Please,  please,  mend  them  without  fail." 

"Sonny,  mother  cannot  help  you; 

Wait  until  to-morrow  night. 
Mrs.  Mancurst  all  this  evening 

Talks  on  'Feebleness  of  Might.'  " 


"Wife,  my  six  suspender  buttons, 
One  by  one,  have  slipped  away ; 

How  shall  I  sustain  my  garments? 
Surely  you  will  sew  to-day." 


43 


''Husband,  I  am  grieved  to  tell  you 
You  must  use  a  safety  pin ; 

Dear,  the  canvass  keeps  me  busy — 
Woman's  pet  reforms  must  win. 


"When  I  shall  have  done  my  duty, 
Gladly  I  will  sew  and  sweep ; 

Yes,  and  while  the  contest  wavers, 
O'er  your  troubles  I  will  weep." 


44 


OLD    MAN    SNOW 

WINTER,  you  have  lingered  long; 

Well  we  know  your  icy  art. 
Though  your  hold  on  time  is  strong, 

May  it  please  you  to  depart. 

You  supplant  the  airy  spring, 
Waiting  to  awake  and  grow. 

Let  the  birds  return  and  sing; 
Winter,  Winter,  melt  and  go. 


45 


DRIFTWOOD 

Column   for   St.    Valentine's    Day 

HERE'S  to  the  little  God  of  Love, 
Who  plays  us  tricks  we  know  not  of, 
And  sends  us  with  an  easy  shove 
To  toil  through  life  for  just  a  dove. 


Little  heart,  Cupid's  dart 
Set  you  wildly  throbbing. 

Much  the  pain,  all  in  vain ; 
Soon  you  fell  a-sobbing. 


46 


Luckless  wight,  what  a  spite! 
Life  was  meant  for  smiling. 

Cupid's  naughty,  Venus  haughty- 
Futile  all  reviling. 


The  youth  was  based  upon  his  knees; 

His  upbent  quaking  arms  implored, 
While  vibrant  voice  enhanced  his  pleas 

To  one  through  many  months  adored. 

"Oh  wilt  thou  be  my  loving  spouse? 

One  word  can  flood  my  heart  with  light." 
The  answer  fell  from  upper  house — 

"  'Tis  half  past  ten;  bid  John  good  night." 


"Though  your  father  hate  me, 
Though  your  mother  rate  me, 

What  care  I 

For  angry  eye, 
If  my  Susan  mate  me?" 


47 


"William,  you're  a  queer  one; 

Would  I  could  say  'dear  one'. 
What  were  I 
Were  Dad  not  by, 

Coinfully  to  cheer  one?" 


"How  I  like  you,"  William  sighed. 
"Make  it  love,"  the  lass  replied. 
"I  must  then  put  out  an  T." 
"Love  is  blind,  no  ill  to  spy." 
"Where  shall  'k'  go?  tell  me,  Miss." 
"Let  me  take  it  in  a  kiss." 


LULLABY 


(Songs  like  this  will  be  sung  in  the 
nurseries  of  2000  A.   D.) 


HUSH,  little  nebula, 
Don't  you  cry; 

You'll  be  a  blue  star 
By  and  by. 


Color  will  alter — 

Gold,  red,  and  black, 
One  after  other, 

Will  garnish  your  back. 


49 


Kiddies  called  planets 

Will  spring  from  your  side. 
Curling  and  whirling, 

World-stuff  will  ride 

Round  a  vast  circle, 

Performing  a  year ; 
Heat  must  go  etherward, 

Cool  lands  appear. 

Life  soon  will  follow — 

Amoeba  and  worm ; 
Dinosaur,  mammoth, 

And  Brain  for  a  term. 

Warring  and  slaying, 

Fighting  for  mates, 
Brain  must  live  stories 

Of  loves  and  of  hates. 


50 


Wisdom  will  triumph, 
War  lords  must  die, 

Happiness  triple, 

For  Brain  can  go  high. 


Planet  on  planet 

Will  crash — but  don't  sigh 
Again  you'll  be  nebula 

By  and  by. 


51 


TOO    MUCH     HISTORY 

May,   1915 

HAVE  done  with  the  rattle  and  rumble  of  war ! 

Away  with  hate  of  the  foe ! 
Let  your  childish  racial  dreams  dissolve, 

Entente  and  alliance  go. 
Bid  the  brotherhood  of  nations  rise 
And  world-wide  concord  grow. 
O  Teuton,  Celt,  and  Slav,  obey  the  higher  call  ; 
Forsake  the  long-drawn  trenches  and  let  the  standards  fall 
For  the  Lord  still  loves  the  nations,  one  Powder  upholds 
them  all. 


52 


Let  the  Crescent  light  the  Eastern  sky, 

And  the  Cross  make  bright  the  West ; 
Bid  the  sword  of  the  Prophet  rage  no  more, 

And  the  steel  of  the  Christian  rest; 
Let  the  long  crusade  forever  end, 

For  only  love  is  best. 

()  blinded  Turk  and  Frank,  obey  the  higher  call  ; 
Forsake  the  hateful  turmoil  and  let  the  ensigns  fall, 
For  Allah  loves  the  races,  one  Power  sustains  them  all. 


53 


GAME 

I  CELEBRATE  the  hollow  skull, 

For  years  the  home  of  What's-His-Name? 
To  this  small  house  great  joys  repaired 

And  cutting  sorrows  came. 

I  cannot  praise  the  rugged  cheeks 

Or  gloomy  nooks  where  eyes  have  been, 

But  must  commend  the  mouth  that  still 
Is  brave  enough  to  grin. 


54 


LIONHEART 

AT  HARBOR  EASE  my  ship  bode  long:, 

Lapped  in  a  mirror  bay, 
Where  sunshine  fell  on  mast  and  desk 

And  lured  my  soul  to  stay. 

But  I  bade  the  peaceful  port  farewell, 
To  steer  my  ship  toward  gain ; 

I  fixed  my  hope  on  golden  goals 
That  lie  beyond  the  main. 


55 


And  now  a  storm  uphurls  the  sea ; 

Waves  roar  against  my  bark, 
The  wild  winds  madly  flap  the  sails, 

And  night  leads  on  the  dark. 

Yet  hero  blood  shall  fill  these  veins, 

A  lionheart  control  ; 
No  churlish  fear  can  master  me 

While  purpose  steels  my  soul. 

So  on  I  go  through  calm  or  storm, 
Whiche'er  the  world  may  don ; 

As  long  as  sails  can  hold  the  wind, 
I  will  make  the  ship  speed  on ! 


56 


"COULD    we    forsake 

Our    gods    and    take 

The  Christ  as  more 

Than  Tiw  or  Thor?" 

King    Edwin's    word 

His  councilors  heard. 

While   elders   sighed, 

Thus   thane    replied: 

"Out  of  the  darkness,  out  of  the  storm, 

To  cross  a  feast  hall,  cheery  and  warm, 

A  sparrow  wings;  revives  in  the  light, 

And  then  flies  back  into  snow  and  night. 

Oh  such,  dear  liege,  is  the  life  of  man ; 

He  joys  and   strives  but  a  little  span ; 

From  gloom  to  gloom  moves  like  a  bird. 

If  Christ  mean  more,  accept  His  Word." 

As    Faith    increased, 

A    gray    high    priest 

Denounced   the   gods 

As  dream-born  rods; 

Tho'    called     insane, 

Rode    steed   to    fane, 

Cast    lance    at    wall, 

Placed    torch   to    all. 

While  Woden  flamed, 

A    seer    proclaimed : 

"O'er    lea    and    land 

A  Cross  shall  stand, 

Shall   light   and   lead 

Northumberland  !" 


57 


LAST     SONG 


SUNLIGHT  dances  down  the  trail 

Gently  bending  toward  to-morrow 
Luring  me  to  leave  the  twilight 

Locked  in  hills  of  sorrow. 
Home  at  last  beyond  the  mountains! 

Were  you  missed  of  yore? 
I  shall  miss  you  so  again 

Never,  never  more. 


58 


Love  denied,  your  charms  are  dust — 

Laughing  eyes  with  fringe  of  night, 
Lips  that  curve  to  sink  in  dimples, 

Cheeks  of  rosy  white, 
Shadow  hair  with  furls  to  fetter — 

Were  you  prized  of  yore? 
I  shall  love  you  so  again 

Never,  never  more. 


ETERNITY 

ALONE  among  the  stars  I  sit  and  dream 
Of  those  vast  reaches  of  Infinity 

That  conquer  thought,  where  universes  gleam 
Like  golden  islands  in  the  Ether  Sea. 


My  spirit  gropes  within  an  awful  night 

Through  which  no  traveled  starbeam  ever  runs 

A  nebula  that  now  drinks  heat  and  light ; 

That  yet  will  shine  and  burgeon  into  suns. 


60 


I  watch  a  primal  fire-mist  knot  and  burn 
To  form  the  great  Arcturus,  or  behold 

Two  dark  orbs,  blindly  clashing,  flame  and  turn 
To  stellar  dust  whence  newer  orbs  unfold. 


Oh  what  are  humankind  and  this  our  life 

Compared  with  those  star  clouds  beyond  our  sky  ? 

What  mean  success,  defeat,  the  patient  strife 
To  make  a  better  world  ?    And  what  am  I  ? 

One  germ  among  a  billion  and  a  half 
That  haunt  a  microscopic  land  and  sea 

Within  the  radiance  of  a  puny  sun, 
Lost  in  the  mazes  of  Eternity. 


61 


FINALE 


So  THIS  is  the  end.    The  hour  so  long  postponed 

Has  come,  and  Death  is  calling  at  my  door. 
Perhaps  my  Dark  Friend  wills  that  I  should  go 
To  save  me  from  some  lurking  future  woe. 
But  if  for  well  or  if  for  ill, 
'Tis  useless  to  implore, 
For  I  must  bid  the  World  and  Time 
Good-bye  for  evermore. 


A  moment,  Death.    But  give  me  pause  to  think. 

This  ever-flowered  dale  that  I  adore ; 
The  blue  that  nestles  in  the  Evening's  arms 
Far  up  the  hills,  secure  from  human  harms; 


62 


The  sunlit  curving  bay,  the  peaks 
That  rim  the  dimming  shore — 

To  all  that  I  have  seen  and  loved, 
Good-bye  for  evermore. 


Quite  ready,  Death.     How  many  you  have  called ! 

Above  Fame's  Book  no  longer  I  can  pore 
Or  watch  the  ages'  giants  put  to  test — 
Columbus  and  Magellan  daring  west, 
Old  Galileo's  starry  tour 

Or  Darwin  delving  lore. 
And  now — to  storied,  gloried  Earth 
Good-bye  for  evermore! 


63 


DATE  DUE 


PS3505.0645W5 


3  2106  00209  7134 


3T8RED  AT  NRLF 


